A Groom wirh a View

who are as flat-out insane as Kitty. What possible reason would she have invented for killing the seamstress?“
    “It wasn’t invented,“ Kitty said from the doorway. “She knew I was pregnant.”
    Jane’s heart leaped into her throat. She and Shelley had been sitting with their backs to the door. They both turned quickly. Now Kitty was standing on the little rag rug, holding a shotgun pointed at them.
    “You couldn’t be pregnant,“ Jane blurted out. Shelley pinched her arm. Hard.
    Shelley spoke soothingly. “Where did you get that gun, Kitty?“
    “Right here by the door. You were so busy saying wicked things about me that you didn’t hear me come in.“
    “It’s not loaded, you know. Hunters don’t put their guns away loaded,“ Shelley said.
    “Maybe so. Maybe not,“ Kitty said, smiling. “You don’t know that and neither do I. But we’ll soon find out. You interfering bitches! I’ve been listening to you and you’re wrong. And you’re evil.“
    “No, Kitty, we’re not evil, and neither are you. You’re just... confused. You need help and we want to help you,“ Jane said.
    The door behind Kitty seemed to have a shadow that was moving.
    “You don’t want to help me. Nobody wants to help me. And nobody can. Dwayne’s dead. Livvy killed him. And everybody’s blaming me.”
    The shadow resolved itself into the shape of Errol Hessling. He put his finger to his lips, then made a yak-yak motion to keep her talking.
    “That’s just because they don’t understand,“ Jane babbled, tearing her eyes away from Errol. “You can explain it. We’ll help you. We really will. Officer VanDyne is a friend of mine. He’ll listen to what I say.”
    Errol was crouched down, creeping up behind Kitty.
    Kitty tossed her head. She didn’t have the gift for doing it gracefully. “You won’t help me. You’re just a couple of dried-up old prunes. You don’t know anything about me. Anything about Dwayne. Anything about love.”
    Errol was making a motion with his thumbs telling them to move apart as far as they could.
    They tried to obey—oozing away from each other without appearing to move.
    “But we do know, Kitty,“ Shelley was saying, easing away from Jane at an almost glacial pace.
    “Quit looking behind me like there’s somebody there,“ Kitty said. “I’m not stupid. I won’t fall for a dumb trick like that. You bitches think you’re so damned smart! Well, I’ll show you who’s the smart one—”
    Errol nodded, then shouted, “Move!”
    He grabbed the end of the braided throw rug and jerked it hard.
    Shelley and Jane flung themselves in opposite directions and Kitty came down like a load of bricks.
    The butt of the gun hit the floor, blowing a hole in the roof.

Twenty-three

    “Did he pay you?“ Shelley asked as Jane came into the room.
    Jane tossed a check down on the bed so it showed up beautifully in the shaft of morning sunshine. “He not only paid me, he gave me an extra five hundred dollars. I think Livvy and her father had a little talk.“
    “Perhaps being married, widowed, and nearly arrested in the same afternoon gave the girl a bit of a spine,“ Shelley said. “If it didn’t, nothing ever will.”
    There was a tap on the door. “Come in,“ Jane called.
    Layla and Eden crowded into the tiny bedroom. “We just came to say good-bye,“ Layla said. “This was the most awful few days of my life, but you ladies made it bearable. And you solved the murders as well. If I ever have occasion to get married again, I’ll call on you.“
    “Don’t you dare!“ Jane said, hugging Layla. “Go home to your babies.”
    Layla ducked out, but Eden sat down on the end of the bed. She glanced at the check, not even bothering to disguise her interest. “That’s all he paid you? The old skinflint.“
    “It’s the final payment,“ Jane said. “The second half.”
    Eden nodded. “Then it’s not so bad. You earned every penny. And more. You kept poor Livvy from going to jail. Kitty actually had me convinced for a while that Livvy might be a murderer.“
    “We considered it, too,“ Jane said. “But Shelley hit the nail on the head without knowing it when she said Kitty had an amazing capacity for fooling herself. But we had no idea until we saw that scrapbook that it was a pathological ability. If you’d seen that book, it would have been obvious to you, too. And if Errol hadn’t literally yanked the rug out from under Kitty, we’d have been shot.“
    “What was